Need advise on a Didital Camera

[pitdog]

Hello all,
I'm a stranger to digital cameras and need your advise/opinions on my next purchase. I would use this camera for family shots, wildlife, hunting, fishing and close up shots for my ebay listings.
Lately, I've been looking at the Olympus C3000 (refurbished) for $380 w/ dock and 64mb card. And at the Kodak DX4900, 4mp, 3x digital zoom for $399 (new).

I don't care about the "video" feature so would the DX4900 be a better choice?

Does anyone have a better camera in mind with 3mp's or more and 3X digital zoom or better for a decent price ($250-$400)?

Thanks for your valuable advise.
steve

 

[pitdog]

Did I spell digital, "didital"? oh well, now you can see I really need help!
Thanks again.
stede

 

[yotegetter]

Really all you need is 3 megapixels. I have a Canon Powershot S30 which has 3 megapixels on it. It's an awesome camera. Takes great pics. The follow up shot on it is very fast. Some cameras have a delay. Make sure you don't get the stick memory. Those take for ever to save the image. I think Sony uses them mostly. I bought a seperate card that has 128 MB. You can take more pictures when you lower the resolution. Also another thing you want to look for is the delay when you take the picture. For example if you say "Say cheese....1..2..3", the camera won't go off until 4 and you'll get pictures of kids pickin their nose after instead of smiling. As far as the zoom goes, most camera's that you're looking for in your price range will be 3X. You can find ones with more zoom, but you'll pay more cash for them.

One more thing you might want to get is a flash memory card where you can take quick follow up shots. They cost about $100 for a 128 MB. They're great when you want to take action shots.

 

[pitdog]

yotegetter,
Thanks for the info. I think I'll look into the Canon Powershot S30.
steve

 

[Kickaha]

Both of those cameras look good.  BTW, I believe the Kodak is only a 2x optical zoom.  You can find reviews of those and others at pricegrabber.com.  Go to http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib....409d3de8e1a9c4/ and you use the options on the left side to search for whatever features you're looking for.  Or to look up particular models.

As far as # pixels, I'd have to disagree with yotegetter.  The current marketing hype states that 3MP is good for prints up to 11"x14".  When making large prints like that, however, you will definately notice the difference if you another MP or two.  

But mostly it depends on personal preference.  If you do go for 4MP (or more), pictures using all those pixels will take more space on your memory card.  And it'll take longer to process them.  So you'll be unlikely to get two quick 4MP shots off.  The good thing about all the cameras, however, is you can dial it back to a less quality picture if you so desire.

 

[yotegetter]

kickaha, of course if you go to higher megapixels you'll get better quality, but to get a good print you at least need 3 MPs. I have printed 11x14 with my camera and my friend has one with 4 MPs. I've seen both and the difference is minimal. That is the reason I think the S30 is an awesome camera. The image I took was also with lower resolution. I was amazed with the quality of the Canon I have. It's a 3.3 MP and I've gotten great shots even in the dark (being a 3.3 MP camera). For $499 I'm pretty satisfied. I've tried other brands  (Sony, Olympus, Nikon, etc.) and some have their good and bad things. Overall I think Canon makes good quality digital cameras. You can use them with any type of printer, but the best would be to use the canon printer. The compatibility is always greater with the same brand. I've always been partial to Canon because of the quality of the images and the camera itself. Olympus makes good cameras as well, but I noticed that the one I tried (don't remember the model) did have a slight delay . I'm not so sure it is the C3000. Probably not.

 

[Kickaha]

yotegetter,

You're absolutely correct about the quality of the camera making a big difference.  My brother has a lower quality 2MP Toshiba camera.  It's not lower quality because of the 2MP, it's lower quality because it's a piece of junk.  It will NOT take a crisp, clean picture for anything.  As long as you stay with the top brands and manufacturers who specialize in cameras (not like Toshiba), you'll probably be fine.  Personally, I like Canon and Nikon.  It would take a LOT of convincing to make me purchase anything else.  The S30 is a great camera and I've seen nothing but good reviews about it.  I would absolutely recommend it.  But if they had a Canon S40 4MP camera, I'd recommend that instead.    :evolution:

 

[yotegetter]

Oh definitely. Digital cameras get cheaper and cheaper by the month. If the S40 was going for $499 at the time I bought mine, I would have definitely bought that one. I bought mine at Best Buy and bought the camera along with other accessories and the warranty that the store offers. I bought that. If something were to go wrong with the camera or I'd drop it and say the S40 is down to $499, they will give me an S40 instead of repairing the S30 or giving me another S30 because if the S40 is $499 and say the S30 is $399, they do a price match. Plus the accessories for the S40 fit the S30!

I agree with not buying cameras that are made by recent camera manufacturers. I have the idea that they're still testing a new market sector.

(Edited by yotegetter at 5:18 pm on Aug. 15, 2002)

 

[pitdog]

Kikaha, Yotegetter,
Thanks for the insight. I was just about to buy the Kodak 4900 and pulled out at the last minute. I think the Canon is the one for me.
Thanks again.
Steve


(Edited by wingman at 7:19 pm on Aug. 16, 2002)

 

[yotegetter]

Good choice Wingman. I was gonna ask you if you were going out to Triple B tommorrow with the rest of the JHPers. I'll be there with the camera if you want to take a look at it.

 

[pitdog]

Yotegetter,
I don't know where that is? I'll check the Event forum.
steve

 

[pitdog]

Yotegetter and Kickaha,
Thanks for the advise. I bought an Olimpus C3000 Zoom and I love it!
Thanks again.

Steve

 

[martin]

after having worked with a Toshiba angio room for over 6 years, I would have to say to stay away from anything that says "Toshiba"--they also sold the technology for silent propellors for submarines to hostile countries

 

[spectr17]

Well wingman, I saw your running around clicking with your new camera at Carrizo. What model did you get and how do you like it so far. Talk to us son.